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| | London Market Report |  | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | London open: Stocks pause at eight-week high ahead of FOMC - Stocks pause at highest since March 6th
- FOMC meeting, economic data in focus today
- Heritage Oil receives takeover offer
- Shell, Tullow and Next rise after updates
techMARK 2,781.52 -0.35%
FTSE 100 6,774.00 +0.06%
FTSE 250 15,872.51 -0.15%
UK stocks opened broadly flat on Wednesday morning after reaching an eight-week high the previous session, as investors adopted a cautious approach amid a raft of corporate earnings.
Markets were also looking ahead to a busy day on the macro front with a host of economic data scheduled and the Federal Reserve's policy decision due out this evening.
The FTSE 100 was trading 0.1% higher at 6,774 in early trading after closing at 6,769.91 on Tuesday afternoon, its highest finish since March 6th.
"Ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting it appears that risk on sentiment will alternate with risk off mood possible keeping the prices in check," said analysts at Capital Spreads this morning.
The FOMC begun the two-day policy meeting yesterday and is widely expected to continue tapering its asset purchase programme by $10bn each meeting. This will bring the monthly stock of bond buying down from $55bn to $45bn.
Inflation figures from the Eurozone will be in focus this morning, while mortgage application and the ADP employment report will be closely watched in the States this afternoon, as well as a reading of US economic growth for the first quarter.
Heritage Oil jumps after takeover offer
Heritage Oil shares surged this morning after Energy Investments Global offer 320p a share to take over the company, some 25% above yesterday's closing price. The offer values the company at £924m. Heritage also announced today that profits more than doubled in 2013.
Oil major Royal Dutch Shell rose strongly despite saying that first-quarter underlying earnings fell by 3%, which exclude £2.9bn of impairments in its Downstream division.
Sector peer Tullow also gained after saying it is on track to meet its 2014 production guidance following a good performance since the start of the year.
High street retail giant Next rose after lifting its guidance for sales and profits this year after a strong performance in the first quarter. The company also announced that it would pay a special dividend and raise the limit of its share buyback.
Rolls-Royce, the power systems group, was also higher after confirming media speculation that it is in talks with German engineer Siemens about the possible sale of its energy gas turbine and compressor division.
Heading the other way was insurer Standard Life after underwhelming with a 1.5% rise in assets under administration in the first quarter.
Sector peer Admiral fell after going ex-dividend, along with others including ITV, Croda, Cobham, G4S, Ferrexpo, Tesco, Reed Elsevier, Travis Perkins and Weir. |
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| FTSE 100 - Risers
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,534.00p +4.24%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,366.50p +3.79%
Capita (CPI) 1,081.00p +2.46%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,042.00p +2.06%
BG Group (BG.) 1,201.50p +1.78%
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,318.00p +1.69%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 790.50p +1.22%
WPP (WPP) 1,251.00p +1.21%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 875.00p +1.10%
Next (NXT) 6,555.00p +1.08%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Tesco (TSCO) 292.65p -3.51%
Reed Elsevier (REL) 853.50p -3.34%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,395.00p -3.26%
Standard Life (SL.) 374.00p -3.11%
ITV (ITV) 178.70p -2.72%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,655.00p -2.71%
William Hill (WMH) 338.50p -2.51%
G4S (GFS) 232.40p -1.90%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,168.00p -1.60%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,639.00p -1.44%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Heritage Oil (HOIL) 312.80p +22.38%
Aveva Group (AVV) 2,049.00p +4.81%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 261.00p +3.90%
Afren (AFR) 158.80p +3.59%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 573.50p +2.50%
Soco International (SIA) 428.00p +2.27%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 183.90p +2.05%
Henderson Group (HGG) 249.20p +2.05%
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 1,073.00p +1.80%
Redrow (RDW) 290.00p +1.75%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
CSR (CSR) 609.50p -4.99%
Elementis (ELM) 276.60p -3.15%
UBM (UBM) 654.00p -2.75%
Cobham (COB) 302.10p -2.39%
Ladbrokes (LAD) 140.10p -2.30%
SIG (SHI) 194.70p -2.21%
AL Noor Hospitals Group (ANH) 989.50p -2.13%
Informa (INF) 480.00p -2.10%
National Express Group (NEX) 281.10p -2.06% |
| | UK Event Calendar | | Wednesday April 30th
INTERIMS
Avon Rubber, Superglass Holdings
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Abbey
INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Wetherspoon (J.D.)
QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
JP Morgan Chase & Co, Middlefield Canadian Income PCC, Schroder Income Growth Fund
QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE
City of London Inv Trust, JPMorgan Claverhouse Inv Trust
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Chicago PMI (US) (14:45)
Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)
FOMC Interest Rate (US) (19:00)
GDP (Advance) (US) (13:30)
International Reserves (EU) (11:00)
MBA Mortgage (US) (12:00)
Retail Sales (GER) (07:00)
Unemployment Rate (GER) (08:55)
FINALS
GLOBO, Home Retail Group, Macromac , Microsaic Systems, Proxama , Solo Oil
ANNUAL REPORT
Oxford Biomedica, Plaza Centers NV
IMSS
Barclays, British American Tobacco, Greggs, International Personal Finance, Kazakhmys, Ladbrokes, Next, Standard Life, SVG Capital, Tullow Oil, Ultra Electronics Holdings, Unite Group
DRILLING REPORT
Antofagasta
SPECIAL EX-DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Admiral Group, Elementis, Foxtons Group , Fresnillo, ITV
EGMS
Bilfinger Berger Global Infrastructure Sicav S.A.(DI), Hellenic Telecom Industries SA ADS
AGMS
Aberdeen UK Tracker Trust, Asian Total Return Investment Company, Aviva, AZ Electronic Materials SA (DI), Bilfinger Berger Global Infrastructure Sicav S.A.(DI), BlackRock Latin American Inv Trust, British American Tobacco, Countrywide, Devro, EMIS Group, Fidessa Group, GLI Finance Limited, Good Energy Group, Hellermanntyton Group, Holders Technology, International Personal Finance, Juridica Investments Ltd., Komercni Banka A.S.GDR (Level 1), Lancashire Holdings Limited, Maven Income & Growth 3 VCT, Nichols, Pendragon, Phoenix Group Holdings (DI), RIT Capital Partners, SEGRO, Synectics, Tullow Oil, Ultra Electronics Holdings, Witan Inv Trust
TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Greene King, Smith (DS), Standard Life
UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Consumer Confidence (09:30)
GFK Consumer Confidence (00:05)
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Chrysalis VCT, Lavendon Group, Manchester & London Investment Trust, Tamar European Industrial Fund Ltd., Wynnstay Group
FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Admiral Group, Advanced Medical Solutions Group, Aer Lingus Group, African Barrick Gold , Cenkos Securities, Cobham, Croda International, Dialight, Dunedin Enterprise Investment Trust, Elementis, F&C Private Equity Trust, Ferrexpo, Foxtons Group , G4S, Henry Boot, Highcroft Investment, Highland Gold Mining Ltd., Holders Technology, Hunting, Hydrogen Group, Informa, ITV, Morgan Sindall Group, National Express Group, Neptune-Calculus Income & Growth VCT, Polymetal International, Porvair, Powerflute Oyj (DI), Quixant, Reed Elsevier, Regus, Senior, SIG, Spirax-Sarco Engineering, SThree, Tesco, Total Produce, Travis Perkins, UBM, Weir Group, William Hill
Q1
CSR, GlaxoSmithKline, Hrvatske Telekom D.D GDR (Reg S), Norsk Hydro ASA, Royal Dutch Shell 'A', Royal Dutch Shell 'B'
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Digital Globe Services Ltd (DI), ISG, NWF Group, Smith (DS), Wolseley
QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
Mercantile Investment Trust (The), Torchmark Corp., Verizon Communications
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Auto Sales (US) (15:00)
Bloomberg Consumer Confidence (US) (14:45)
Construction Spending (US) (15:00)
Continuing Claims (US) (13:30)
Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)
ISM Manufacturing (US) (15:00)
ISM Prices Paid (US) (15:00)
Personal Consumption Expenditures (US) (13:30)
Personal Income (US) (13:30)
Personal Spending (US) (13:30)
Q3
British Sky Broadcasting Group |
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| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe open: Shares start the day slightly lower ahead of FOMC - Alstom shares rocket 12 per cent after trade resumes
- Eurozone inflation figures lie ahead
- Traders in holding patter ahead of FOMC meeting
FTSE-100: -0.05%
Dax-30: -0.12%
Cac-40: -0.33%
FTSE Mibtel 30: -0.38%
Ibex 35: -0.22%
Stoxx 600: -0.15%
Equity markets have started the day lower, ahead of a bank holiday tomorrow on the Continent that will see many markets remain closed for trading and this evening's Federal Reserve policy meeting.
It was reported on Wednesday morning that Spain's consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.4% month-on-month in April, as expected.
That comes ahead of the release of the latest Eurozone inflation figures for April which are due out at 10:00.
Weak German CPI readings on Tuesday led some economists, such as at Barclays Research to lower their forecast for today's number to 0.7% year-on-year from the 0.8% rise which they had previously been expecting.
Banks and automobiles lead falls
From a sector standpoint, and within the DJ Stoxx 600, the largest losses were being seen in the following industry groups: Retail (-0.93%), Banks (-0.74%) and Automobiles&Parts (-0.73%).
France's Alstom is reviewing a binding offer from US industrial conglomerate General Electric for its energy business, but it has left the door open for a competing bid from Germany's Siemens. The shares shot 12% higher after a trading halt was lifted.
BNP Paribas may be facing a fine in the US well in excess of $1.1bn, the lender warned.
Spain's BBVA has posted a 64% drop in first quarter net profits to €624m, largely due to the sale of assets one year ago, making for more challenging comparisons.
German car-maker Daimler unveiled first quarter operating profits that doubled.
Euro edges higher
The euro/dollar was little changed at 1.3810.
Front-month Brent crude futures were off by 0.47% to the $108.47/barrel mark on the ICE. |
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| | US Market Report | | US close: Stocks end higher after multiple strong earnings - Strong earnings and easing tension in Ukraine lift stocks
- Twitter falls after posting Q1 loss
- FOMC in focus as two-day meeting begins
Dow Jones:
Nasdaq:
S&P 500:
It was a positive finish to Tuesday's session, driven by strong earnings and reports of easing tensions in Eastern Europe.
The Dow Jones jumped 86.63 points, or 0.53%, while the Nasdaq climbed 29.14 points, equal to a gain of 0.72%. The S&P 500 delivered a slightly more modest 8.90 point climb, up 0.48%.
Both financial and tech stocks rose strongly, although Twitter was a notable faller, having posted a first-quarter loss of $132.36m, significantly wider than the $27.03m loss posted for the said period a year earlier. In post-market trading, the stock dropped to its lowest level since it was floated.
The focus of the session was nonetheless very much on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the statement for which is due to be released tomorrow.
The FOMC begun the two-day policy meeting and is widely expected to continue tapering its asset purchase programme by $10bn each meeting. This will bring the monthly stock of bond buying down from $55bn to $45bn.
Analysts at Rabobank said it was a case of "steady as she goes" at the central bank "given the Fed's tapering inertia and the apparent confirmation by recent data that the extreme winter weather was indeed responsible for much of the weakness in earlier data".
This week's focus is also very much on the release of the latest GDP reading as well as Friday's all important jobs report.
Also helping sentiment higher was an easing of the situation in Ukraine, which helped reassure investors that Russia will not cut off its gas supply.
According to CMC Markets's Jasper Lawler, "separatists have gained control of more government buildings in Eastern Ukraine opening the way to further potential reaction from the Ukrainian military, but for now markets have focused elsewhere as both Ukrainian and Russian forces pulled back from the region".
However, reports indicated that officials from NATO had cast doubt on the news of a Russian pull-back from Ukraine's borders, saying they had seen no sign of it.
In US economic news today, the Conference Board's US consumer confidence index declined to 82.3 in April, missing the 83.2 consensus forecast.
Nevertheless, the prior month's figure was revised higher to 83.9, the index's highest reading since 2008.
Meanwhile, the S&P/Case-Shiller composite home price index, which measures house values in the 20 main metropolitan areas, rose at an annual rate of 12.9% in February, down from the 13.2% pace of growth seen in the previous month but broadly in line with analysts' estimates, if marginally disappointing.
Merck & Co. leads Dow Jones higher
Merck rose strongly after its earnings per share came in nine cents above expectations at 88 cents.
Telecoms group Sprint also impressed after narrowing losses in the first quarter to just four cents per share, from 21 cents the year before. Revenues edged higher from $8.8bn to $8.88bn, in line with estimates.
Fuel refiner Valero trounced analysts' forecasts for the first three months of the year, reporting earnings of $1.54 per share in comparison to estimates for $1.39.
Meanwhile, EBay posted a loss, despite reporting a rise in earnings. Shares fell on the back of an unimpressive outlook.
In other markets, crude oil futures for June were 0.44% higher at $101.28 a barrel on the NYMEX.
S&P 500 - Risers
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $299.58 +6.51%
Ameriprise Financial Inc. (AMP) $109.55 +5.84%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $35.83 +5.41%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $203.61 +5.15%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $67.57 +4.74%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $43.93 +4.72%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $80.83 +4.59%
Lorillard Inc. (LO) $57.51 +4.09%
Cummins Inc. (CMI) $150.81 +3.86%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $157.34 +3.76%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Coach Inc. (COH) $45.71 -9.34%
Waters Corp. (WAT) $99.03 -8.51%
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) $57.07 -8.25%
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) $25.11 -7.72%
Rockwell Automation Inc. (ROK) $115.63 -7.15%
Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) $12.73 -6.26%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $63.50 -3.51%
Eaton Corporation plc (ETN) $72.15 -3.15%
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) $43.23 -2.59%
Masco Corp. (MAS) $20.23 -2.32%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $58.72 +3.60%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $90.90 +1.41%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $101.50 +1.19%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $72.48 +1.13%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $78.64 +1.11%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $56.10 +1.10%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $158.24 +1.09%
Boeing Co. (BA) $128.37 +1.05%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $195.11 +1.02%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $105.30 +1.00%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $40.57 -1.12%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $40.51 -0.88%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $31.76 -0.87%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $79.52 -0.81%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $75.20 -0.71%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $82.44 -0.60%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $101.03 -0.31%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $117.56 -0.12%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $79.67 -0.11%
General Electric Co. (GE) $26.76 -0.07%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $299.58 +6.51%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $35.83 +5.41%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $203.61 +5.15%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $67.57 +4.74%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $80.83 +4.59%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $206.92 +4.24%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $157.34 +3.76%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $58.15 +3.58%
Equinix Inc. (EQIX) $185.38 +3.07%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $70.59 +2.95%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $63.11 -4.19%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $63.50 -3.51%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $137.18 -2.05%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $361.59 -1.70%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $49.13 -1.62%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $12.40 -1.35%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $47.85 -1.22%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $35.60 -0.93%
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $55.99 -0.89%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $40.51 -0.88% |
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| | Newspaper Round Up | | Wednesday newspaper round-up: AstraZeneca, Housing market, Alstom The head of Pfizer has jetted into London to begin a whistlestop tour of City institutions as the American drugs company scrambles to drum up support for a hostile £58.7bn takeover of AstraZeneca. Ian Read's arrival for a 48-hour tour of fund management firms underlined the urgency of Pfizer's intent to capture Britain's second largest pharmaceuticals company — a deal that, according to analysts, appears increasingly likely to succeed. – The Times
One of Britain's largest landowners and developers has warned that it is "concerned" about fast rising values in London's "super-prime" housing market. Grosvenor, the property company headed by Gerald Grosvenor, the 6th duke and Britain's wealthiest landowner, said it sold about £240m of luxury residential assets in London last year and wanted to focus more on the "mid-market" residential sector. - The Times
French engineering group Alstom today said it would decide by the end of next month whether to accept a €12.4bn (£10.2bn) offer from General Electric for its energy business, leaving the door open for a rival bid from Germany's Siemens. France's government, which regularly intervenes in corporate decision making, had questioned whether selling Alstom to US conglomerate GE threatens the country's energy independence and jobs. Officials had pressed for more time to allow rival Siemens to make an offer. – Scotsman
More than a third of people in the UK feel positive about their future job prospects the highest level for nearly seven years, research has shown. Consumer insight group Nielsen said 36% of people said they felt positive about their employment prospects in the first three months of 2014. It comes a day after official figures showed the UK economy grew by 0.8% in the first quarter and by 3.1% in the year to the end of March – the strongest growth since before the financial crisis. – The Daily Mail
Pro-Russia militants in masks broke down doors and stormed government buildings Tuesday in another area of Ukraine that hugs the Russian border, as the new government in Kiev criticized local police for failing to stem the growing unrest. The latest moves in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region came despite a new wave of sanctions on Russia by the US and European Union aimed at forcing the Kremlin to rein in the activists, who have echoed Russian President Vladimir Putin in denouncing Ukraine's two-month-old government as illegal. They have called for more autonomy for the eastern part of Ukraine. – The Wall Street Journal Europe
Britain's biggest banks and lenders will have to show they hold enough capital to withstand a sharp fall in the pound and house prices, as well as a spike in interest rates, under new stress tests unveiled yesterday. The Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority said eight banks and building societies will have to undergo the test, with a "strong presumption" that the supervisor will force any lender that fails to meet the threshold to strengthen its capital. – Daily Express | | |
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